Texts in Conversation
In Deuteronomy, God claims vengeance as his own, while the Samaritan Pentateuch and the Greek Septuagint translation speak of the day of vengeance. That reading moves the focus from God as the source of vengeance to its timing.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Deuteronomy 32:35
Hebrew Bible
33 Their wine is snakes’ poison, the deadly venom of cobras. 34 “Is this not stored up with me?” says the Lord, “Is it not sealed up in my storehouses? 35 I will get revenge and pay them back at the time their foot slips; for the day of their disaster is near, and the impending judgment is rushing upon them!” 36 The Lord will judge his people, and will have compassion on his servants;62 when he sees that their power has disappeared, and that no one is left, whether confined or set free. 37 He will say, “Where are their gods, the rock in whom they sought security,
Date: 750–400 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Samaritan Deuteronomy 32:35
Samaritan Penteteuch
Samaritan
33 Their wine is poison of snakes, hostile venom of vipers. 34 Look, it is stored with me, sealed up in my storehouses! 35 For the day of vengeance and repayment, at the time when their foot shall slip. For the day of their calamity is near, and their doom comes swiftly. 36 For Shema will vindicate his people, and have compassion for his servants, when he sees that [their] power is gone, and no one remains, slave or free. 37 And they will say, ‘Where are their gods, the rock in which they took refuge,
Date: 130–120 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The key difference between the Masoretic Text and the Samaritan Pentateuch comes at the start of verse 35 where the Masoretic reads: לִי ‘mine,’ but the Samaritan text has two additional consonants to read: ליום ‘for the day.’ The Masoretic text reading is supported by the Vulgate, the Targums and the Peshitta (Longacre 2009, 3-6). In addition, the Masoretic reading is further supported by two New Testament citations: Romans 12:19 and Hebrews 10:30. However, the LXX reads: ἐν ἡµέρᾳ ἐκδικήσεως ἀνταποδώσω ‘on the day of judgement I will repay’, which supports the Samaritan Pentateuch reading ליום ‘for the day’. Tigay (1996, 405n144) suggests the Masoretic reading לי, was an abbreviation of ליום. Tov (2001, 256-7) agrees, and gives other examples of possible abbreviations in the Masoretic text, or where the LXX translators read the Masoretic as an abbreviation ..."
Philip Mark Reid, “A Preliminary Investigation into the Samaritan Pentateuch as an Intralingual Translation” (MA diss., University of the Free State, 2021), 94–95.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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